Former Olympic champion, world record holder and British running legend Steve Ovett has added his heartfelt tribute to Frank Horwill.

“What a loss to our sport, one of the great characters and coaches of an era that sadly we will all miss,” said Ovett.
“I can still picture, very vividly, cold winters nights at the Crystal Palace track hearing Frank’s whistle blowing at regular intervals as his athletes slogged their way though one of his killer sessions or attending one of the BMC camps and being regaled by Frank for not trying hard enough even though we were all semi conscious at the time with exhaustion.”

Ovett was coached himself by the late Harry Wilson, another great contemporary of Horwill’s who sadly passed away in 1999 so is fully aware of the contribution both men made to the resurgence of British middle distance running in the eighties when he and rival Seb Coe were at their peak.

“Frank and a few other coaches were in my mind solely responsible for pulling British middle distance running up to a level which matched and occasionally beat the rest of the world,” added Ovett.
“I for one was really pleased when Frank received his MBE; outspoken, anti establishment and sometimes politically incorrect no one deserved it more!

“These are few memories. There were many, many more which will not be forgotten and I am sure others will also remember Frank for the laughter and pain but above all his love for the sport to which he gave his life.”